Staples refuses to print my PDFs....

[Delta]

So I had my girlfriend take a couple of PDFs that I bought to Staples and they refused to print them. They said they need a written document from the publisher which states that they can be printed.

Does anyone else have these problems? Can I even get something written from Mongoose and Morrigan Press that says its okay to print the PDFs? Do other publishers not intend for PDFs to be printed? What's the dilleo with this? I think its insane and never had problems with this before.

Anyone else?

This happened to me at a Kinko's a few years ago when I was trying to get a SimCity map I'd created printed out poster-sized. I was mad as hell. Frankly, I thought the guy at the counter was just lazy because I was the 3rd person in a row he refused to do a job for, for a variety of reasons.

I must say that the person above who works at one of these stores, who tried to describe their policy, and is unable to even spell "copyright" correctly is pretty rich.

 

[jdrakeh]

Personally, I wonder what would happen if I would take a PDF into Staples that was my own copyright or that did have a notice that said one copy can be made for personal use. I think they'd say the same thing. We'll see, cuz I'm really curious. I'll let you all know what happens.

See my post above. I've had a Staples (in SoCal) refuse to print copies of a PDF that I authored/owned. It was incredibly frustrating

 

[Nonlethal Force]

Well, if a company likes to be in business it should be their job. Whatever happened to good ole customer service and the customer is always right?

Naw. It shouldn't be their "job." It should be their desire. The job is what a contract (or the law) compells you to do. However, don't hear me as disagreeing with you. You are exactly correct. If they wish to be able to continue to do their job, they will desire to make the customers happy and do their job in such a way that the corporation and the customers are satisfied. And that is usually the rub, isn't it?

I see where you're going with this, but who's interests do you think they are looking out for? If you say its their customers, you have a lot to learn about life and how big corporations work.

I never said that they're looking out for me. I am saying that when a corporation gets hit with a lawsuit, it is the future costomers who have to pay. So, whether they are looking out for me or looking out for themselves, my point is that the fewer the copyright lawsuits they have to pay out, the cheaper their service is going to be. But you're darn right they're doing it for their protection, not my wallet!

No customer service representative should ever be yelled at. They don't make the policy and I hate seeing people like that get abused. Its a huge peeve of mine.

Totally agreed. I'm even polite to telemarketers who call. It isn't their fault the computer randomly called my house.

Personally, I wonder what would happen if I would take a PDF into Staples that was my own copyright or that did have a notice that said one copy can be made for personal use. I think they'd say the same thing. We'll see, cuz I'm really curious. I'll let you all know what happens.

Please do. I think that would be very interesting to hear. To be fair, though, I recommend a 3-part test:

1. Control: Take in a pdf from another company without receipt or permission line.

2. Sample #1: Take in one of your own with the ability to prove it is your own design.

3. Sample #2: Take in your own, or another companies, that has a permission line specifically written into the front age of the pdf. (As well as any necessary things like a receipt).

I would be interested in seeing how that goes. And to be fair, they should all be done with the same customer service rep at the store. But I am interested to hear how it turns out.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Staples has it's head up it's butt. Massively.

"We need a signed permission slip before we let you off campus, children!"

 

[Karlson_the_red]

Well, call the company paranoid, but their view point is better safe than sorry. One of the stores I used to work at in NC, was sued because someone at the copy center made color copies of wedding pictures without the photographers permission. They may be pictures of your wedding, but the person who took them, owns them. That entire experience was just nasty...

And that pretty much lead to the: if its questionable, don't do it. Its frustrating, yes, but its better than a huge lawsuit.

Plus, if you really need it printed out, buy a $50 printer and some ink and have at it... It would probably work out to nearly the price, depending on the page count

Karlson

 

[jdrakeh]

See my post above. I've had a Staples (in SoCal) refuse to print copies of a PDF that I authored/owned. It was incredibly frustrating

[Edit: I guess I should mention that this has also happened at Kinko's in the interest of being fair.]

 

[I'm A Banana]

Well, call the company paranoid, but their view point is better safe than sorry.

In my mind, it's an insult.

"You're a thief unless you can prove you're not. You're not a customer, you're a criminal. We don't serve you, we serve our suspicious superiors who treat IP and copyright law like a bludgeon against consumers."

It's a pet peeve with me, I get angry out of proportion with it, but I loathe the assumption that all users are abusers.

 

[Morrus]

See my post above. I've had a Staples (in SoCal) refuse to print copies of a PDF that I authored/owned. It was incredibly frustrating

They don't print a document you created?

Errmm.. this may be a daft question. What do they print? It doesn't actually sound like they have a printing business. Are you sure they actually print stuff?

 

[JustinA]

[Edit: I guess I should mention that this has also happened at Kinko's in the interest of being fair.]

I think the most ridiculous example of this I've run into is when Kinko's refused to print out a copy of a large manuscript I needed to mail to a publisher (this was back in the days before digital submissions had become the norm). It didn't even have a copyright notice on it, but the Kinko's position was that this looked "clearly official" and even had a byline that identified a specific author.

I showed them my driver's license and said, "Yes, I'm the author."

Still wouldn't print it.

The store manager showed me the policy. It specifically stated that they would not print "any copyrighted material". Not "any copyrighted material unless you own the copyright", but "any copyrighted material".

When I pointed out that this policy literally meant that they couldn't let anyone copy anything that wasn't at least three-quarters of a century old (or thereabouts) the guy just frowned at me.

Yet another example of copyright taken to insanity.

 

[ssampier]

Asanine. I'm not surprised, but just because it's not surprising does not mean it's not asanine.

Staples has it's head up it's butt. Massively.

"We need a signed permission slip before we let you off campus, children!"

We need a note from your mother and a report card from your third-grade teacher.